Sanitary dry closet.



L. BUTTON.

SANITARY DRY CLOSET. .APPLICATION FILED Au e. I3. 19m.

Patented Apr. 1, 1919.

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L.BUTT ON. SANITARY DRY CLOSET.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 13. IQIT.

Patented Apr. 1, 1919.

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STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LEONARD BUTTON, OF BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA.

SANITARY DRY CLOSET.

i To all whom it may concern:

feifson and State of Alabama, have invented certain new and useful Im rovements 1n Sanitary Dry Closets, of whlch the following'is a specification.

My invention relates to a sanitary dry closet and its objects are to produce with the maximum simplicity and cheapness in cost a dry closet which will be sanitary and fly proof inthe highest degree and which 1 can be easily applied and set up.

- ,With these general objects in view my invention' comprises the novel details of construction and arrangements of parts, which inY their preferred {embodiment only are illustrated in; the accompanying drawings,

which form a part of this specification, and in which c Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the closet boxin position for use.

,Fig. 2'is a top plan view of the closet box with the stack and cover removed.

r Fig." 3 isfla view showing the top cover closed and the stack in cross section. Fig. 4 is a rear elevation of Fig. 3'.

; c Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a metal box; with metal doors.

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional perspective I view taken on the center line of the box.

Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view enlarged of the rear door and thejoint between it and the bottom of the-box.

Similar reference numerals refer to similanpartsthroughout the draw ngs.

As illustrated, 1 is the closet box proper :provided with a rear hinged downwardly swingingrdoor 2 which is, reinforced on its inner facef with vertical battens 3 which prevent any'tjendency on the part of this door to warp. It will be observed that this door seats against the inclined rear edges of the sidewalls of the box and when it is considered that the door will not warp, the arrangementinsures an automatic tight closure always at the rear end of the box. In

thelow'erpart of the front wall of the box is a vent hole 4: screened on the lnside by screen wire 4:. The seat 5 mounted on top of the box is provided with a vent hole 6,

also screened by a wire mesh 6 attached on 1 1 the upper face of the seat. This vent is adapted to cooperate with the vent 4 in pro- Specification of Letters'la'tent.

Patented Apr. 1, 1919.

. Application filed August 13, 1917. Serial No. 186,015.

viding an updraft through the'box. At the rear end of the seat 5 and suitably connected thereto is a transverse back strip 7 to which is hinged the rear door and which is adapted to be made fast to the inside of the rear wall 7 a of the house or building in which the closet is set, this strip being of great advantage in connection with the convenient and secure attachment of the closet box when the same is mounted in dry closets of the present construction. The seat 5 is provided with the customary seat hole 8 and a hinged cover 9, which is provided on its up per face with a transverse batten 10, which serves the purposes of reinforcing the cover against warping, of furnishing a handie for lifting it, and of forming a stop which will engage the ventilating stack 11 to which the cover is hinged and prevent the cover rising to vertical position and thereby insuring that it will close by gravity when released. This ventilating stack 11 is mounted on the seat 5 over the screened vent 6 and is made fast to the back strip 7. It thus protects the screen wire 69 and is made high enough to extend through and above the roof "I of the closet building, its upper end having side vents 12 and a cap plate 13 flush with the side walls of the stack. It will be observed that it is unnecessary to screen the holes 12which are exposed by rea son of the fact that the vent holes 4 and 6 are screened, it being particularly noted that these screens are arranged so that they are protected. A metal bucket 14 provided with a'handle l5 and hand grip 16 is adapted' to be inserted through the rear opening in thebox, the-top of-this' bucket coming in close proximity to the underface of the seat 5' and being adapted when in position to stand partly under the vent 6 so that the latter will vent both the bucket and the box.

In operation, the door 2 normally falls by gravity against the inclined rear edges of the side walls'of the box and against the bottom forming a tight closure. The batten 10 by preventing the seat cover 9 from standing, will cause it also to fall by avity to close the seat hole 8. The battens 3 and 10 prevent these covers from warping and insure a continuous, close and sanitary joint closure for the box. The ventilating takes place through the vents 4' and 6 and up through the stack 11 and all screening wire being housed within the box, or protected seat to the width of the box 1 and insert the latter through the opening with the over hanging front end of the seat 5 resting on the seat support and with the back strip 7 bearing against and securely screwed or nailed to the inner face of the rear wall of the closet which is cut away sufliciently to permit the rear door 2 to swing clear to the position shown in Fig. 1. After this, the stack, with the cover 9 hinged thereto, is mounted on the box and, with its cap plate in place thereon, is passed through the roof and the apparatus is then ready for service, the stack, except about one foot of thetop thereof, being housed within the closet and thus protected from damage or exposure. Moreover, in mounting the stack on the top of the seat I avoid elbows or curves therein which seriously interfere with the draft, and moveover the stack is brought into position to co-act with the batten 10 for insuring a gravity closing top cover for the seat hole 8.

In Figs. 5 to 7 of the drawings I illustrate a modification of my invention in which the box, doors and stack are formed of sheet metal, preferably galvanized iron, instead of wood. The body of the box is formed by a vertical sheet of metal 17 bent to form a rounded front section conforming substantially to the curved front end of the contained bucket 14. The rear end edges of the body are flanged outwardly at 18 and inclined to correspond to the inclination of the rear edges of the sides 1 of the wooden box. The bottom 19 of the box is secured by a lock joint with the sides and is provided with a rear downturned flange 20. An angled strip of metal 21 is soldered to the flanges 18 and 20 at their lower corner joints to reinforce the same and fill out the corner. The seat 5 is secured to the out-turned top flange of the metal body 17 I-Iinge straps 22 are made fast to the rear end of the seat 5 and carry a transverse hinge pin 23 about which the intermediate portion of the upper edge of the rear door 24 is bent to hingedly connect the door to the seat. A metallic back strip 25, corresponding to 7 in Fig. 1, is nailed or otherwise secured to the rear end of the seat and overlies the upper strap 22 of the hinges for the rear door. The strip 25 is also provided with an out-turned bottom flange 26 which projects sufficiently to prevent rain or water gaining access to the box through the hinge joint at the top of the door 24:. This also prevents the hinge from rusting.

The back door 24 is formed of a rectangular piece of sheet metal having its side and bottom edges folded over on it to reinforce it and having attached to its inner face a reinforcing plate 28 formed by a sheet having its marginal edges bent over at right angles to the plane and then outwardly in a plane parallel with the sheet to form flanges 29 which underlie the folded over edges of the door proper. The main body of the reinforcing sheet thus projects inwardly from the inside wall of the door .and is shaped to fit into and tightly close the rear opening of the box. This construction not only gives a better joint and .closure for the door but serves the very important func tion of making the back door so rigid that a close joint will always be secured and there will be no tendency for it to warp or twist out of shape. A handle 30 is attached at the base of the door.

The top door or cover 31 for the seat hole is also formed of sheet metal havin its rear end bent around a hinge pin 32 which turns in hinge plates 33 secured to the top of the seat. The side edges 34 of the cover are folded over to reinforce it and are gradually bent from a horizontal position near the hinge to a vertical position near the front end of the door where the metal is bent up and back upon itself to form a transverse reinforcing member 35 which like the batten 10 serves to give the cover the requisite rigidity and also forms a handle for lifting the door and for engaging the stack 36 so as to arrest the door in a position so that it will fall to closed position by gravity. The stack 36 in this case is formed by metal pipe, the base 37 of which is attached to the seat over the screened opening 6 therein. The box is provided with a screened vent opening 38 near its top and 39 near its bottom, the screen wire to cover these openings being disposed within and secured to the wall of the box.

The operation of the metallic box is the same as that already described for the wooden box. It is more expensive than the latter but at the same time more durable.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to's'ecure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a sanitary, fly-proof dry closet, a box having a top forming a seat with a hole therein, a movable bucket in said box, a hinged gravity controlled self closin cover for said hole, a transverse cover reinforcing member which projects above the upper face of the cover, and a ventilating stack rising straight from the box and in position to engage said member and arrest the opening movement of the cover before it reaches a vertical position.

2. In a sanitary dry closet, a closet seat having a screened top opening and a seat openlng, a box thereunder having screened venting means, a stack rising vertically above said screened opening in the seat, a removal of a bucket, substantially as decoverfor the seat opening hinged to said scribed.

stiack, a transverse reillclforging battelili adapt- In testimony whereof I aifix my signature. 10 e to engage t e stac an arrest t e opening movement of the seat cover before it LEONARD O reaches a vertical position, and a rear door Witness:

for the box adapted for the insertion and NoMm WELSH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

- Washington, D. 0." 

